What has happened to YTV?

[valeriemufford]

I recently had some small kids visit, so I tried to go to YTV, either channel 600 or 613, and it told me that I was not subscribed to them.  They are part of the Essentials package, and all info I can find online says that they are, but my set top box won't let me watch them.  I can watch them on the Telus TV+ app on my laptop, which says they are subscribed, so what is going on?

[Nighthawk]

YTV hasn't been part of the Core channels for years, based on my experience with my own Optik TV service. Depending on where you look, I've seen both listing that it is NOT part of the Core/Essential channels, and a channel guide that says YTV is.

• The main Telus website does not show YTV as part of the Core pack: https://www.telus.com/channel-selection/guide/optik/essentials/. 
• The current channel selection guide here does NOT show YTV as part of the Core channels.
• The current Channel Guide (full list of channels by region) here DOES list YTV as part of the Core channels. 

@TELUS_Support - Can you please confirm which is correct? Thank you.

[TELUS_Support]

Hi @Nighthawk - appreciate the insight. You are correct that YTV is not part of the core channels as it has been put in a theme pack but depending on which Optik package they are on (1.0, 2.0, etc.) they may have had it included in Essentials so we need to check the account for details.

@valeriemufford - we'll send you a private message to investigate

[valeriemufford]

I had completely put this out of my mind as life gets busy.  But I still want to know when it was moved, and why it can be watched on the Telus TV+ app as part of my subscribed channels.  It just seems strange, as I have been a subscriber to Telus TV or its approximation since 2006, and YTV was always part of the basic channels that everyone got without choosing theme packs.  Like I said, it's not a channel that I watch very often, but occasionally we have children as guests, and it was nice to have a channel that they could watch.

[Nighthawk]

Back in 2011 the CRTC had YTV as part of their channels for mandatory distribution.YTV was part of the Optik TV Essentials pack in 2015 (PDF) but as of late 2019 (PDF), YTV was no longer listed. The latter is right around the time the CRTC changed was was included in the core channels, and requiring providers offer a base package for $25 per month.

If I look at my currently subscribed channel packs in the MyTelus app, YTV is not listed as part of the Essentials. Nor do I subscribe to the pack it's part of currently. When I go to channel 600 I am told I'm not subscribed.

Like you, I am however able to watch YTV on the TelusTV+ app, even though I'm not subscribed to it. No idea why, though Telus may go and fix that now that they're aware.